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History of the Coweeta Residence

The Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (then known as the Coweeta Experimental Forest) was founded in 1934 by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Part of the current Coweeta Residence building was the original Coweeta Headquarters Building. The original building was constructed in 1937.

This building and several others at Coweeta were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps group that was based at Coweeta. This group of dedicated and talented trades people and their apprentices were housed in buildings that occupied the field where the Coweeta Conference and Office Center now stands.

The Coweeta Residence was expanded in 1962 to include the long middle section of the current building. This space was predominantly occupied by the increased number of data management and research staff. In 1987, Wayne T. Swank (Forest Service) and D.A. Crossley (University of Georgia) received a Field Station and Marine Laboratory grant from the National Science Foundation to convert the Coweeta Headquarters Building into living space for 14 people for the increasing number of visiting scientists and students who were conducting research at Coweeta and surrounding locations. These renovations were completed and the Coweeta Dormitory was opened in 1988.

In 1999, Brian D. Kloeppel (University of Georgia), David C. Coleman (University of Georgia), and Wayne T. Swank (Forest Service) received a Field Station and Marine Laboratory grant from the National Science Foundation to renovate and expand the Coweeta Dormitory. This funding, along with extensive funding and support from the Forest Service and the University of Georgia, resulted in the renovation and construction of the Coweeta Residence to its current capacity of 20 people. The exterior of the building was designed and constructed to match the original architecture, materials, and colors as closely as possible. The interior was completely renovated and modernized.

The Coweeta Residence was opened on 22 August 2003. An open house to acknowledge the funding agencies and personnel involved in making the renovation and expansion possible was held on 03 October 2003. At that time, the social room in the lower level of the building was named "The Callahan Room" in honor of Dr. Tom Callahan.